Cardinals finally fulfill fans' wishes with bombshell Erick Fedde roster move

It took some time, but the St. Louis Cardinals have finally made the move everyone has been waiting for. Right-handed pitcher Erick Fedde was officially designated for assignment after his latest terrible start.

Cardinals DFA struggling starter Erick Fedde

Katie Woo of The Athletic first reported before Wednesday's series finale that the Cardinals brass finally came to terms with what the fans have known for a while. Woo posted on Twitter/X that St. Louis officially DFA'd the 32-year-old Fedde and will now have seven days to make a decision on his future.

Woo had just reported that the Cardinals were shopping Fedde to teams around the league, but there was never much hope that a return would provide anything of value. The righty has provided low to no return since being acquired at least year's trade deadline, and the team has faltered along with Fedde. Over his last 12 starts, he is 0-7 and has not won a game since his now unfathomable complete game shutout. The DFA signals that manager Oli Marmol and others may be finally getting their wish and have pitcher Michael McGreevy inserted into the rotation full time.

A DFA is different from an outright release, and the Cardinals will now have seven days to trade, release, or assign Fedde elsewhere. With the trade deadline looming in a week, this most recent start in which Fedde gave up six runs in three innings looked to be his last with the organization anyway. With the announcement, the Cardinals will officially see which teams were serious about taking on Fedde's services for the rest of the year, but the more likely outcome would be all other teams passing on taking on his salary and St. Louis having to release him back to the open market.

There is close to no chance that the Cardinals would try to send him to Memphis if he were to clear the DFA period, and Fedde would also have to approve any such assignment. Even with the noted lack of depth in the starting rotation in Memphis, it would probably be best for all parties involved to separate ties completely.

This move is likely just the first of many that will grace the Cardinals' transactions page this week. There was a lot of recent news and rumors announced over the weekend that can be seen here. It is likely that the Cardinals will deal from their reliever depth as they finally move towards the future and inspire hope back in the fanbase.